"No doubt that's been big for us all season," Panthers' coach Darren Allman said of the turnovers. "One play can turn the momentum. Our offense has been good all year in taking advantage. It has a lot to do with our defense playing fast. They take pride in fumbles and interceptions."

The biggest play in the game was the interception that Permian senior defensive back Eugene Neboh made midway through the second quarter. He returned it for a touchdown as the Panthers (8-0 overall, 3-0 district) tied the game 14-14.

AHS (7-1, 2-1) had thoroughly dominated the first 14 minutes of the game en route to a 14-0 lead. Spens Lackey's 1-yard sneak capped a 12-play, 62-yard drive for the Eagles' first touchdown. Lackey's 2-yard connection with Ben Wadsworth made it 14-0 with 9:53 left in the first half. At that point, the Panthers had just 13 yards of total offense.

But senior quarterback Taylor Bird began to find some open seams in the AHS defense and moved Permian to the 20. After two straight tackles for losses by Eagles linebacker Chris Williams, Byrd found Joseph Knighten for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 5:57 left in the half.

Neboh's play 23 seconds later turned the game around.

"It was just a good play," Williams said of Neboh's pass interception and touchdown. "We lost to a good football team, not a better one than us. Tonight, they made the plays."

Williams said that even with a 14-0 lead, the Eagles weren't feeling secure.

"We gave up 17 just as easy," Williams said. "We're playing as if the score is 0-0. You can't let the emotion get to you, and I don't think we did. We're not going to dwell on this, and (we'll) get ready for Cooper."

Permian forged a 17-14 lead at halftime when Michael McNatt booted a 35-yard field goal with three seconds left.

McNatt put the Panthers ahead 20-14 with a 32-yard field goal midway through the third quarter. That score was set up by Jerome Lejia's fumble recovery at the Permian 48.

But the Eagles, who were having trouble moving against the Permian defense, had one last drive left.

Lackey guided AHS on a 6-play, 80-yard drive highlighted by the senior quarterback's 42-yard pass to Kortney McDow. Lackey covered the final 6 yards when he swept around right end and dove for the pylon that put the Eagles in front 21-20.

The Panthers also had one last drive in them, marching 65 yards with Jamison Berryhill running 8 yards up the middle for the go-ahead touchdown with 6:11 left in the game.

AHS had two more possessions but was unable to get on the Permian side of the field.

"The turnovers were the difference," Eagles' coach Steve Warren said. "That's why they're a good football team -- because they take advantage of them. We're a good football team, too. We were beat by the No. 5 team in the state. We'll see how we react."

Interestingly, Abilene High did things that no other team had done against Permian all season. The Eagles were the first team to get ahead of the Panthers and they were the first team to score in the third quarter against Permian. And yet it wasn't enough.

Still, there were few long faces after the game.

"We lost four games last year and people think it's the end of the world because we drop one," said Abilene's Keithy Flye, who had 14 carries for 82 yards. "It was tough. They played hard and we made a couple of mistakes that hurt us. This team will bounce back."

Lackey even suggested it was a "good loss. It's not the end of the world or the end of the season. We'll be ready for Cooper next Friday."

Permian, meanwhile, is in position to end the three-year reign of Abilene High as district champions.